Scatterbrain'd
by fantaisieponz
Summary: Hitomi Soto, Shina Ito and Leiko Mine have been best friends since they could remember with the Sohma boys: Ayame, Shigure and Hatori. They're now entering their last year of high school. Oh, the antics that will ensue. Not to mention, the romances...
1. We're Seniors!

**A/N: Welcome. Yes, it's been a while, I know. But I've come back with something that I believe you guys are gonna like. So, happy reading! Oh and for future reference, I took out the zodiac curse. I just feel the story would go better without it. I'm sorry if that disappoints some of my readers. **

**Key: **_Flashbacks_

--- - Regular breaks

* * *

"Can you believe it, guys?" Hitomi Soto was stretched out upon her best friend Lieko Mine's blue rugged floor. She, Leiko and their best friend Shina Ito were enjoying the rest of their slumber party, a ritual they would do to bring in the upcoming school year. "We're going to be seniors tomorrow! Four years!" She reached her hand into the red popcorn bowl next to her, grabbing as much as she could and stuffing it into her mouth roughly.

Hitomi, Leiko and Shina were best friends since grade school. Hitomi and Leiko had known each other since they were 2, and while in grade school, they met Shina. The threesome seemed to never leave each other's side, though they couldn't have been more different. Hitomi was the self proclaimed leader of the pack, who's outspoken and flamboyant personality could easily get the girls in trouble. Once, she made one of the school security officers cry after he tried to write them up for being late to class. Since Shina and Leiko were with her, all three girls got a week's detention. Hitomi's personality was by no means shadowed by her looks. She stood about 5'5, had long brown hair that reached her hips, in which she often dyed outlandish colors (for the first day of school, she'd dyed it hot pink), and had piercings in her nose and ears. To accent her "individuality", she wore different colored eye liner and lipstick, which often matched the color of her hair or the mood she was in. Leiko Mine was very different, yet not a long stretch away from Hitomi. She was vey dim-witted and often regarded as an airhead to her friends and even to some members of her family. She was very happy-go-lucky and could make the saddest individual jump for joy. She also seemed to be, not only fascinated with sex, but also very educated on the subject. Though all three girls could be regarded as pretty, Leiko was, without a doubt, the most beautiful of the bunch. Her dirty blonde hair was mostly tied in two long braids, freckles inhabited her nose and rosy cheeks, and her deep blue eyes accented her features. She was rather short, about 5'0 and was very well endowed. Last but not least, Shina Ito was, without a doubt, the brains of the group. One of the reasons why Hitomi and Leiko became friends with her was because of how adept she was. When she started at their grade school, she would answer all the questions (correctly) and ace her tests without a problem. The kids began to make fun of her and wouldn't talk to her before Hitomi and Leiko befriended her after finding her eating lunch alone. Shina had come from a family of doctors and lawyers, paving the way for her future. She was about 5'3, and had shoulder length dark brown hair in which she swept back in a dark blue head band. Shina was the voice of reason to the group, providing piece of mind and even, sometimes, lectures that the group so badly needed. These completely different girls were also friends with a group of boys who seemed to match each girl to a tee.

Ayame Sohma, Hatori Sohma, and Shigure Sohma had been friends with the Hitomi, Leiko and Shina since their last year of grade school. Though the girls never dated the guys, one would almost assume that each boy belonged with one of the girls. Leiko and Shigure had been eying each other since they'd laid eyes on one another. Lieko had even told Hitomi and Shina that she'd lost her virginity to Shigure in the back of Ayame's car after a wild party during the last few months of their 3rd year of high school. Ayame and Hitomi mixed like water and oil. They were always at each other's throats, teasing and taunting, though there would always be that "moment" between them that they would show each other that they really do care for one another but it was always interrupted by a smart remark from one of them. Hatori and Shina seemed to be made for one another. But they both were completely delirious about it. Both incredibly shy around one another, afraid of what the other would say if they spilled their feelings.

Shina hugged her bare legs close to her chest and smiled at Hitomi. "I can't help but feel somewhat superior already."

Hitomi scoffed, smiling at her best friend. "You should! You're, what? The ONLY female on the student council board."

Shina nodded as she took a sip from her glass of water and enjoyed the sound her name being associated with the student council board.

"Chea." Leiko laughed, typing away at her computer. "I think Shinsuke liked her because he would NEVER let a woman replace him. Remember what the board looked like when we were 1st years?!"

"Yeah. What a sexist asshole." Hitomi frowned, thinking of past treasurer Shinsuke Saki who was infamous for being a sexist and not allowing any women serve on the board, often talking the presidents into choosing inept male students to take the place of educated and well-prepared female students.

"Well, I think I've got Ayame to thank for that as well." Shina smiled at Hitomi, who rolled her eyes and grabbed at the red bowl for more popcorn.

"Eh…" Hitomi responded, chewing on a few unpopped kernels.

"I wonder what those three are up to?" Shina stretched out on the floor next to Hitomi, smiling.

"Yeah." Hitomi sighed as she did the same. "I've really missed them." She quickly sat up and addressed both Shina and Leiko. "Do you two realize that the last time we've seen them was two full months ago?"

"And a few weeks! Don't forget those few weeks!" Lieko added, smiling at Hitomi from her computer screen as if she'd contributed a lot to the conversation.

Hitomi rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yes, Leiko. Two months and a few weeks. But as much as those three boys get on my nerves, I really miss all of them. Hatori, Shigure, and even Ayame."

Leiko dramatically draped the back of her hand over her forehead. "Oh, God. Please. Don't say his name. Every time I hear it, my heart breaks one more time."

"Leiko, you and Shigure aren't even dating." Shina sat up and crossed her arms over her chest.

Leiko's cheeks slowly turned a bright pink. "So. We've shared….a special event in our lives." She looked down at her lap in which she fumbled with her hands.

Shina and Hitomi glanced at one another with raised eyebrows.

CHA-LING!

Lieko looked up at her computer screen and smiled. "Speak of the devil."

---

Ayame and Shigure were stretched out on Hatori's bed as Hatori typed away at Ayame's student council presidential speech, in which he was to give tomorrow.

"Oh, Shigure. How these months have been incredible being next to you." Ayame placed his hand upon Shigure's cheek.

"Aya, how wonderful this love has become. Just the two of us, it is." Shigure responded caressing Ayame's hand.

"YES!" The two suddenly sprang apart and placed their fists together in an action of victory.

"Ugh. Will you two stop that already?" Hatori grumbled from behind his computer screen.

"Oh, Ha'ri. Whatever's the matter?" Ayame clapped his hands together and mock-frowned at his obviously busy best friend.

"I have to type up this very important speech for you and you two are over there playing. Now let's get this done before the night ends."

Shigure glanced at his watch. "Ha'ri, it's only 4 PM."

Hatori glanced at Shigure from behind his computer screen. "I know."

"Okay, okay." Ayame and Shigure slid from off of the bed to the side, sitting on the floor. "What've ya got for me?"

"Here. I'm going to print it out now and you can read over it. I've gotta use the restroom. I'll be back."

Ayame and Shigure followed Hatori with their eyes as he exited his room. As soon as the door closed, they hopped to Hatori's computer, minimized Ayame's speech and clicked on his instant message box. Lieko was online.

"She's on! She's on! MOVE!" Shigure pushed Ayame away from the computer and began to type away to the girl that he'd missed since he'd left for vacation those two months (and weeks) earlier.

"Well, excuse me!" Ayame huffed, placing his hands on his hips.

"_Hi!"_

"Hi? That's what you pushed me so violently for was to merely say hi?" Ayame crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows at his friend.

Shigure slowly smiled at Ayame, his cheeks the color of roses.

"_Hi Hatori! We were just talking about you guys."_

Ayame burst into laughter. "SHE THINKS YOU HA'RI!! HAHA! Serves you right! You almost killed your student council president."

"Grr! Shutup! I AM on Ha'ri's name!"

"_What are you girls doing tonight?"_

---

"_What….are….you….girls….doing tonight? _Tell him nothing." Hitomi responded to the message Leiko had just received from who they thought was Hatori. She and Shina were now hovering over Leiko, reading their conversation and desperate for a response.

Leiko quickly typed back. _"Oh nothing. Where's Shigure?"_

"LEIKO!!!" Hitomi and Shina both yelled at their blonde-haired companion in unison.

"Hey! I'm the one typing here!"

---

"Look, Aya! She misses me, too!!" Shigure pointed at the screen happily staring at Ayame, who was brushing off his long sleeves.

"_I'm right here, Leiko! I've missed you terribly these past months. I've longed for your touch, longed for the smell of your beautiful golden hair, longed for those big blue eyes! I need to see you!"_

"Oh, Shigure." Ayame leaned against the wall, watching Shigure bubble up with happiness. "You've left me for that blonde fluesy."

Shigure stood up straight, looking at Ayame. "Is that how you really feel about Leiko?"

"Oh, you're no fun." Ayame responded, kicking himself off the wall and walking towards the computer.

---

"Oh my gosh!" Leiko clapped her hands together and cheesed so hard her cheeks began to burn.

"What?" Shina leaned closer to the screen.

"Oh, God." Hitomi shook her head and crossed her arms as she understood what was going on. "Move it!" Hitomi grabbed the keyboard from in front of Leiko and began typing away.

"Hey!" Leiko yelled, staring at Hitomi as if she were some maniac.

"Dammit! Shina and I don't wanna see you and Shigure cakin' up over this thing. If we do, we'll be here all day!"

Leiko meekly looked at Shina, who merely shrugged. "All day and night."

"_Shigure, this is Hitomi. We've got nothing to do for the rest of the day. What do you say we meet up at Kahichi's and hang?"_

---

"Hm. Kahichi's to see the girls? Tell her yeah." Ayame observed, almost freezing his eyes at the mention of Hitomi's name.

Though he didn't show it much, Ayame was very fond of Hitomi, finding himself admiring her to the point of being extremely attracted to her. Of course, he couldn't TELL anybody this. Especially Hitomi.

Just as Shigure's finger hovered over the enter button to seal the deal, Hatori strolled into the room, holding a box of cigarettes and a lighter. He slowly looked to his left to find Shigure and Ayame standing over the computer, blushing and looking like two frightened little boys. Hatori's eyes narrowed.

"And exactly WHAT are YOU TWO doing?" Hatori walked towards the computer to see what his two friends were currently up to. "Have you even looked at YOUR speech? The one that I wrote?" He asked Ayame who was still staring at him, scared of what he was going to do.

"The girls wanna meet us at Kahichi's. I told them yeah." Shigure said quickly, waiting for Hatori's reaction.

"Shina will be there." Ayame said, smiling, just as Hatori opened his mouth to give his "best friends" a lecture. At the sound of Shina's name, Hatori sighed and bowed his head in defeat. "Fine. Let's go so we can get back."

"YES!" Shigure and Ayame linked their fists together in their normal reaction to victory.

"Ugh! Let's go!"

---

Kahichi's was the premiere hang out spot for the Kaiwaia High student population. It seemed to be bursting with high school students all day, every day. The owner, an older woman named Sakura Inoue, seemed to take a particular liking to Shigure, Ayame and Hatori, letting them order whatever they liked for the price of just one thing. On the other hand, she wasn't real crazy about Shina, Hitomi or Leiko, not giving the same amount of service she did to the boys.

"They better come or I'll –"

"Oh, shush and take a seat." Leiko quickly shut Hitomi up as they entered Kahichi's, taking their normal window booth seat. Hitomi and Leiko slid in the same seat as Shina slid into the opposite.

"Look at that old bat." Hitomi whispered to Shina, motioning her head to the old woman who happened to be staring at the threesome. "So miserable, so lonely."

"Shh, Hitomi! Her husband died in a fire a long time ago." Shina responded sentimentally.

Hitomi rolled her eyes and sighed. "God, do you ALWAYS have to be the voice of reason?"

"WE HAVE ARRIVED!"

The entire café went quiet and turned its attention to the door. There stood Ayame, Hatori and Shigure in all their glory. Ayame looked more flamboyant than ever, sporting his purple cheetah print fur coat and his long white hair in a neat braid, topped off with a pink bow. Shigure and Hatori looked more normal, wearing polos and slacks.

Hitomi couldn't help but shake her head and laugh at Ayame's crazed personality. Something that she couldn't help but --- like. A lot.

"AYAME! SHIGURE! HATORI! Now, why haven't I seen you for the past few months, huh?" Mrs. Inoue was kissing up to the boys, as usual. It made Hitomi sick. Sick to her stomach.

"Mrs. Inoue. We're so sorry. We were out for vacation. We had an exquisitely wonderful time, though." Ayame talked loudly to the waitress, though she was standing right in front of him.

"How are you, Shigure and Hatori?"

"Fine, Mrs. Inoue." The boys responded in unison, searching the café for the girls they came to see.

"Could you tell us where we can find three lovely ladies, one brunette, one blonde and one with some outlandish colored hair?" Ayame finally asked the old woman.

"HEY! I HEARD THAT!" Hitomi hopped up from the booth and pointed her slender finger at Ayame, who couldn't fight away his smile.

He pushed her hand away from his face and wrapped his long arms around her thin frame. "Oh, Hitomi, you look more ravishing than ever."

"Oh, move it!" She said, pushing him away from her then brushing herself off. "You're lucky I don't pull that white hair right out of your scalp!"

"Hitomi!" Lieko yelled over her shoulder to her best friend, almost immediately locking eyes with Shigure. "Shigure?" She smiled staring at the boy she'd been longing to see.

"It's me, Lieko! It's me! Shigure! I've been waiting so long to lay my eyes on that gorgeous face of yours!" Shigure fell to one knee, continuing the massive scene they were making in Kahichi's.

"Oh, Shigure!" Lieko leaped from the booth and ran into Shigure's arms as if they stared a romance film.

Shina quietly hopped off of the booth and walked towards Hatori, who was merely watching all of this craziness happen. "Hey." She smiled, glancing up at Hatori for a few seconds, then looking back at her shoes.

"Hey, Shina." Hatori smiled, looking down at his beautiful companion.

"WELL, COHORTS! LET'S CONTINUE THIS LITTLE POW WOW IN OUR BOOTH, SHALL WE?" Ayame disrupted Shina and Hatori's moment by ending the drastic scene they'd created in the cafe.

---

"WOW! That sounds AMAZING!" Leiko said as the others listened to Ayame's tales of he, Shigure and Hatori's summer vacation.

Hitomi sat on the side with the window, Shigure sat next to her while Hatori sat on the end. As for the other side, Leiko sat on the side with the window, Ayame was in the middle and Shina was on the end – across from Hatori.

Leiko and Shigure had been exchanging sexy looks and glances at each other since they'd sat down, not really listening to anything the others were saying.

"We almost didn't make it here." Ayame dramatically and all of a sudden announced as he flipped his hair onto his other shoulder. "Ha'ri almost didn't let us come." He, then, smiled at his smarter friend. "But when we mentioned Shina he completely changed his mind. His entire face lit up."

Hitomi, Shigure and Lieko all stared at Hatori who looked pissed off as ever. Shina was staring at her lap, trying her hardest to hide her embarrassment.

"No. It wasn't like that." Hatori responded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hey. Remember the movies incident?" Hitomi asked around the table as they all began to recall the event.

---

"_Have you guys heard about that new movie, __**Creepers Street**__?" Hitomi asked around the lunch table. The girls and guys were all at lunch, chatting away at whatever was on their minds._

"_Ugh, I heard it was dreadful."Ayame responded, flipping his long, white hair to his other shoulder. _

"_Dude, let's all go and see it this weekend just to see how bad it is." Hitomi whispered to the gang as if it were a secret between the six of them._

"_Yay! Movie night!" Leiko clapped her little hands together, laughing._

"_I don't know about movie night, but…" Ayame grabbed Shigure's hand from across the table. "I can't wait….to have some alone time with you, Shigure."_

"_Oh, Aya, how well you can read my mind." Shigure responded, placing his other hand atop of Ayame's._

_The entire table looked stunned. They always did this. And it always got more and more bizarre._

"_YES!" Ayame and Shigure clasped their fists together in triumph._

"_Would you guys stop that?!" Hitomi asked as she finished off her salad._

___Hatori and Shina glanced at each other from across the table. Neither wanted to go. But how were they going to tell each other that without insinuating something else?_

___---_

_Since Shina's car was in the shop that day, Hatori drove her home. After a long, quiet ride, they'd finally arrived at her house. At first, they just sat there, looking at their laps._

"_Are…you going to the movies Saturday with the others?" Shina asked, looking over at Hatori._

"_No. I have a lot of studying to do. We've got a huge history exam Monday that I must prepare for."_

_Shina looked back at her lap. "Yeah. I have a math exam Monday as well. And I need all the help I can get with math."_

"_Maybe….I can help you study?"_

_Shina looked up at Hatori, who was looking at her himself. "What do you mean?"_

"_Maybe, instead of staying home and studying alone, I could come over your house and we can study together since you're great at history and I'm good at math."_

_Shina couldn't help but smile. Alone time with Hatori? She'd be a fool to turn it down. "Sure. I'll even rent some movies."_

_Hatori began to start up his car again. "Ha. Yeah. We could have a little movie night of our own." He winked at her as he placed his hands back on the steering wheel. She could've sworn she felt her heart skip a beat. "Okay. So…Saturday. My place."_

"_Yep. I'll see you then." Hatori smiled as Shina exited his car. _

"_Yeah. See you then, Ha'ri." As Hatori drove off , Shina couldn't help but dance with excitement to her front door._

_---_

_Shina had cleaned her house for two straight days, making sure that everything was in place and nothing was misplaced. She wasn't going to get embarrassed by Hatori going back to his friends and telling them what a pigsty she lived in. She couldn't bare to think about it. She also didn't just throw something on. She swept her hair back in a black clasp and wore a short, yellow sundress and a little bit of eyeliner. Though she didn't want to admit it, she was definitely going that extra mile for Hatori._

_DING DONG. Shina's heart fell as she heard her front door bell ring. 'He's here! He's here!' She thought to herself as she ran to her door. 'Just breath, Shina. Just breath.' Shina slowly opened the front door to reveal a smiling Hatori. _

"_Wow. You look great."_

_Shina couldn't help but blush and cheese. "Th-thank you. Come right in. Refreshments are on the coffee table for you."_

"_Thanks, Shina. What movies have you got?"_

_Shina walked quickly to the coffee table and sat onto the floor. "Um. Well. My mom said that __**Gone With the Wind**__ was good."_

_Hatori couldn't help but laugh. "__**Gone With the Wind**__?! We ARE just studying tonight, right?"_

"_Oh, Hatori. It'll be fine. We can always just turn it off."_

"_Well, alright." Hatori cracked open his history book, then glanced at Shina. "Shall we begin?"_

_---_

_Hours had passed and Hatori and Shina had done all the studying that were going to do for that night. They were so engrossed in Gone With the Wind that studying was made impossible anyways. _

_RING RING RING_

_It was the phone. Shina then immediately realized. Hitomi. Ayame. Shigure. Leiko. She totally forgot about them. She'd blown them off for Hatori. And FORGOT to tell them. Uh oh. _

_Hatori stared at Shina as she walked to the phone to answer it. "It's probably Hitomi and the others. I totally forgot to tell them!" Hatori gave her a light shrug as she picked up the phone with a weak 'Hello.'_

"_WHERE ARE YOU, SHINA???" Hitomi yelled threw the phone. "WE'VE SEEN THE MOVIE AND EVERYTHING!!"_

"_I'm sorry, Hitomi. Ha'ri and I decided to study instead because we've got exams Monday."_

"_Ooooh. I get it. You and Ha'ri. Well, okay. Why didn't you just say that you wanted to cake up with Ha'ri?"_

"_We're not caked up ---"_

"_Bye Shina."_

"_HITO –" CLICK._

_Shina hung up the phone and took a deep breath. They'd never let her hear the end of it._

"_What's wrong?" Hatori could sense Shina's upset nature._

"_Hitomi and the others think that we're flirting. That we skipped the movies with them to flirt with each other."_

"_Ha. That's absurd. What do you expect from them, though." Hatori responded nonchalantly._

"_Yeah. You're right."_

_All of a sudden, Hatori had reached his hand over to Shina's cheek and slowly touched his lips with hers. It began with him giving her a few pecks. Before they knew it, they were in an all out make out session. Fingers combing through hair. Tongue dancing without mouths. Then, like a lightning strike, they sprung apart, realizing what was happening. Shina felt ashamed and embarrassed. She'd just made out with one of her best friends. And it wasn't in, what she would describe, a classy manner. _

"_I'm-I'm sorry." Hatori broke the ice._

"_No no no. I'm sorry. I-I don't know what came over me."_

"_I think I'd better go."Hatori began gathering his things._

_Shina sighed in response. "Okay."_

_As she watched Hatori leave through her front door, her feelings for him painfully, and unexpectedly seemed to grow._

---

"Haha. I was actually mad at Shina but – WILL YOU STOP TRYING TO PLAY FOOTSY WITH ME?!" Hitomi yelled, furiously, getting annoyed with Leiko's feet crashing into her legs.

"Oh. I thought those were Shigure's feet." She responded dumbly, looking around as her cheeks turned scarlet.

Shina laughed, glancing at Hatori, who'd she noticed was staring at her. Immediately she looked down, hoping that her hair would cover up her own cheeks that were turning deep scarlet themselves.

Hitomi abrubtly changed the subject.

"Can you believe this, you guys? We've all been together since grade school." Hitomi looked around the table at the five people she could truly call friends. "We're about the embark on the greatest school year of our LIVES! Guys! We're seniors!"

* * *

**A/N: Welp, I hope you guys liked it. I call this my pilot chapter because depending on the reception of this chapter, I will continue. So, if you like it, please don't stay quiet! Thanks guys!**


	2. Kaiwaia High, Year 4

"Oh, God. What should I wear?" Leiko slapped her palms on her cheeks as she stepped into her massive closet.

"Your school uniform, you moron. And the board of education thought that they were doing us all a favor." Hitomi sarcastically sighed, slipping on her short blue skirt over her slender hips.

"Stop making fun! I wasn't serious anyway." Leiko stood in her closet, only wearing her underwear. "I thought saying that would, you know, add to the effect."

Hitomi rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Where's Shina?"

"She's in the bathroom." Leiko shouted from her closet as she put on her uniform.

"You know, I don't know why she's so ashamed of her body." Hitomi grabbed a magazine off of Leiko's floor and began to flip through the pages. "She looks hot to me."

Lieko walked out of her closet, dressed and braiding her long, blonde hair into two perfect braids. Hitomi looked up from her magazine, "And to Hatori, too, apparently." The two girls began to giggle.

"Shut up. And I'm not ashamed of my body." Shina suddenly announced, walking into Leiko's room, her pajamas in hand.

"Oh, you heard us?" Hitomi asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, in fact, I did." Shina responded, without amusement as she neatly folded her clothes and placed then into her overnight bag.

Hitomi threw the magazine she was reading on Leiko's bed and approached Shina. "Well, Shina, you are hot. And Hatori does think so. I mean, have you seen the way he looks at you? The way he stares at you when he thinks you're not looking? The way he says your –"

"ALRIGHT! Hitomi, damn." Shina grumpily retorted.

"Yeah, Hitomi, we get it." Leiko rolled her eyes at her smart aleck friend, who'd shrugged it off. "But haven't you noticed, Shina?"

Shina turned to give Leiko a death glare.

---

"LUCY IN THE SKYYYY WITH DIIIAMONDS…LUCY IN THE SKYYY WITH DIIIAMONDS…LUCY IN THE SKYYY WITH DIIIAMONDS…AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" The three girls sang The Beatles' 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' to the top of their lungs as they rode to school. Shina was driving her newly remodeled yellow Volvo while Hitomi sat in the passenger's and Leiko inhabited the entire back seat.

"Dammit, red light." Hitomi murmured as they slowly approached a yellow light.

"But it's yellow!" Leiko yelled back matter-of-factly to Hitomi as they watched it quickly turn red. Hitomi shot a look at Leiko, who merely shrugged. "Well…it was."

BEEEEEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

"Greetings, my aesthetic beauties." It was the ever-so-dramatic Ayame beeping Hatori's car horn right next to them. Shigure was in the back while Ayame was in the passenger's and Hatori was driving. He greeted Leiko and Shina with a dazzling smile. Then, his face fell and he glanced at Hitomi. "Hitomi."

Hitomi rolled her eyes and sighed. "Ayame."

"You know you like it." Leiko whispered from the middle of the back seat to Hitomi.

Hitomi snapped her head in Leiko's direction, immediately, giving her a cold stare. Leiko slowly looked up from her chipped nail polish, jumping at the look on Hitomi's face.

"I see you're driving today, Shina. What a smart decision, for you'd be late if Hitomi was driving." Ayame let out his loud, exaggerated yet irritating laugh, looking around at Shigure who was also laughing quite loudly. Leiko lightly giggled as Hitomi's entire face began to turn bright red.

"Driving with her is like driving with my grandmother!" Ayame went on, laughing his head off along with Shigure and Leiko.

"YOU KNOW WHAT?! YOU'RE ON!!" Hitomi exploded, pointing at Ayame.

"Who? Me? Why, Hitomi? What exactly am I on?" He responded innocently, fluttering his eyes.

"A RACE! TO KAIWAIA! NOW!" She screamed even louder, getting angrier and angrier as the seconds went by. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!!" She pushed Shina practically out of her own car.

"Wait, Hitomi! You are NOT about to RACE in MY CAR!! It's my only car! Not to mention, you're about to put all three of our lives in jeopardy!"

"I don't give a damn! Get out so I can show this asshole how to drive!"

Shina sighed and obliged, not wanting to get steam rolled by her best friend. She got out and ran to the passenger's seat as Hitomi crawled to the driver's. When Hitomi'd situated herself, she shot her head at Ayame and Hatori.

"Move out of the driver's seat, Hatori! I'm about to cream your friend!"

"Hitomi. You should really calm down." Hatori responded, calmly.

"OH, THE HELL WITH YOU ALL!" Hitomi pressed her foot on the gas and sped off, followed by a cloud of white smoke.

The three boys watched for a few minutes, stunned at Hitomi's reaction….

All of a sudden, they burst into laughter.

---

As soon as the girls entered Kaiwaia High, they were greeted with what looked like the entire student body crowded around sheets of paper posted along the walls of the hallways.

Hitomi looked to her best friends on either side of her. "Well, ladies," she rolled up her sleeves roughly. "Shall we?"

All of a sudden, Hitomi, Leiko and Shina pushed themselves through the crowd, trying to get to the front to see the list. As soon as Hitomi managed to get to the front of the growing crowd, she ran her finger down the list, searching for her name.

"Soto….Soto….Soto….SOTO!" Hitomi turned around the face her friends, upsetting some of the students that were looking for their own names. "Hey! I found my name!"

"Look for me, Hitomi!" Leiko yelled over the large crowd.

"You're….here, too, Leiko. So is….Ayame….and Shigure!"

"What about me?!" Shina asked, waiting for Hitomi to announce that she was also in their class.

"Ummm…" Hitomi ran her finger over the list a few more times, growing frustrated and frantic to find Shina's name.

"I….I don't see you."

"Really?! MOVE!" Shina pushed through the crowd, staring at the list, trying desperately to find her name. She stared at the list one more time before backing away from the crowd, flabbergasted.

"I'm….not in your class."

Lieko and Hitomi immediately hovered over Shina, who was staring at her brown shoes, disappointed, rubbing her back and trying everything to console her.

"It's okay, Shina. It doesn't matter if you're not in our class, we'll hang out with you. It's just that we'll have more time together than with you, that's all." Hitomi stomped on Leiko's shoe and gave her the evil eye, making her hobble about in pain.

"What's wrong, Shina, darling?" Ayame asked, putting his hand on Shina's back. "Upset that I hadn't arrived yet?"

"HA! Well, where were you? Thought you were so fast, you could get here before us?" Hitomi looked at the three handsome boys before her, placing her hands onto her hips.

Ayame smacked his teeth and shook his head. "Oh, Hitomi. Yee of little mind. I'm trying to comfort this beautiful and upset young lady. Not argue with a brash, self-centered person like you."

"You're one to talk." Hatori mumbled under his breath, making Shigure chuckle.

"OH, YOU LITTLE!!" Hitomi charged for Ayame but was stopped by Leiko, who grabbed her by her arms.

"Hitomi! Shina's sad! Remember?"

Hitomi's entire face fell as she let out a heavy sigh and realized that she was, in fact, being a little too selfish. She focused her attention back to her upset best friend.

"She's not in our class." Leiko responded, still looking at Shina with sympathetic eyes.

Hitomi looked up from Shina's sad face to Hatori as if remembering something. "Wait, Leiko. I don't think I saw Hatori's name either."

Leiko looked up at Hitomi. "Really? Hm."

Shina looked up from her brown shoes to Hatori, who was staring at her, concerned. As soon as their eyes met, she looked back down at her shoes, trying her hardest to hide her glowing cheeks.

"Umm…Shigure? Can I speak to you…in private?" Leiko asked, sweetly, rubbing her neck and licking her plush lips.

Shigure immediately ran after her down the hallway like a lost puppy.

"Ugh….sex fiends." Hitomi grumbled as she shook her head and watched them stroll down the hallway. She, then, turned all her attention to her upset friend.

"Come on, Shina. Let's look for your class." Hitomi put her arm around Shina's shoulder as if she were helping her walk.

"I'll be right back." Hatori announced as he headed towards the student schedules as well.

"Oh! Let me come!" Ayame cried, as he ran off after his friend waving his arms in the air like a child.

"Ok. Let's see….Ito….Ito….Ito…no."

Hatori began with the bottom of the list and worked his way up. "Sohma……………no."

"Ito…..Ito…."

"Sohma….Sohma…."

"Ito…."

"Sohma…."

"Ito!"

"There I am!"

Hitomi and Hatori slowly looked at one another. They're fingers were on the same list.

"Um…Shina?" Hitomi looked around to her best friend. "You and Hatori….."

"ARE IN THE SAME CLASS! ISN'T THIS INCREDIBLE?!" Ayame finished Hitomi's sentence with much exuberance .

Shina and Hatori glanced at each other, wide-eyed.

"Are you serious?!" Shina pushed Hitomi out the way to see the list for herself. Sure enough, Shina Ito and Hatori Sohma inhabited the same class. Slowly, she turned around to face her friends, smiling with rosy cheeks.

"OH! SHE LIKES HA'RI! I JUST KNOW IT! LOOK AT HER SMILING! SHE'S SO HAPPY! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ayame began jumping up and down, singing as loud as he could.

"He's so immature." Hatori responded, rolling his eyes at his crazed friend.

"I think this is great." Hitomi retorted.

"Are you serious, Hitomi?" Ayame walked behind Hitomi, stretching his long, thin arm around her shoulders. Hitomi's heart skipped a beat. God, he smelled good! "It'll be another ditch-us-at-the-movies-to-"study" episode for these two!" Hitomi and Ayame burst into loud laughter, catching many students' attention.

"May I…..walk you to class?" Hatori asked Shina, ignoring Hitomi and Ayame's annoying behaviour.

Shina couldn't stop herself from smiling. Not only was Hatori in her class, but he was asking to her escort her there. This day was already beginning on a good note. "Sure." She responded without thought and they started on their way, walking away from their eccentric friends.

---

Shigure and Leiko were roughly making out in the janitor's closet, their hands exploring the other's body, their tongues abusing one another within their mouths.

Shigure started reaching for the bottom of Leiko's shirt.

"Shi *kiss* gu *kiss* re *kiss* control your *kiss* self!"

Shigure broke away from Leiko's lips.

"I don't think that's entirely possible." He gently touched his lips with hers, devouring her small and, now, weak tongue.

"What about class?" Leiko asked, her fingers entangled in his jet black, silky hair.

"What about it?" He shrugged, reluctantly breaking away from her swollen lips once more.

"Shigure, we can't just skip class and stay in here. We'll…we'll become bums. And have to live together in all our failure. I don't wanna do that, Shigure! I DON'T WANNA DO THAT!" Leiko had grabbed Shigure's shirt with both her tiny hands and shook him back and forth, giving him a slight headache.

He sighed. "Ooookay. But promise me that we'll continue?" He gently touched her cheek with the back of his hand as Leiko smiled and giggled.

"Fine." She kissed him on his cheek, then stood up the open the janitor's door. As she opened the door, she tripped over a broom that had been hanging on the door. Quickly, Shigure caught her from behind.

"You should really learn to be more careful, sweet cheeks." He responded with a smile.

Leiko looked down and realized that Shigure had caught her by her butt.

"Oh, you PERV!!" She yelled, pushing him back into the janitor's closet and slamming the door.

---

"Their just alike," Shina giggled as she stayed close to Hatori. "They're both so….out there."

"Yes, I know. I don't think Ayame or Shigure will ever grow up." Hatori responded, staring at the ground and thinking about why he was even friends with such goofs.

"Hatori, maybe you shouldn't be so down on them. I'm sure you'll manage. You've been friends with them since you guys were in grade school. You grew up together. I think that's sweet." Shina glanced at Hatori, who was looking straightforward down the hallway.

Shina smiled at Hatori immediately attracting his attention. He stopped walking and turned to face her. 'Boy, did she have an amazing smile,' he thought. Shina could feel the heat forming in her cheeks and she quickly looked down at her shoes.

"Come on," She said, continuing to walk forward. "We've gotta get to class. Don't wanna be late!"

Hatori watched as she walked away, with a longing stare. If only he were more straightforward with his feelings, which was something that he actually admired about Ayame and Shigure. They weren't afraid of what people thought of them. On the other hand, Hatori had a serious fear of rejection. That Shina would turn him down. But if only….if only he had the confidence to tell her how he felt about her.

Realizing Hatori wasn't next to her, she halted and turned around, catching him staring at her from where they were standing. Giggling, she yelled to him, "Come on!"

"Oh." Hatori quickly jogged up to Shina and they continued on to class.

---

"Miss Soto?"

When Hitomi looked up, she was staring in the face of the vice principal of Kaiwaia, Mr. Ryo Mitsuru, who seemed to hate Hitomi.

Hitomi stopped laughing and cleared her throat, not one bit nervous. "Yes, Mr. Mitsuru?"

"I don't understand how many time I must approach you about your hair. It's very distracting to the other students."

Hitomi giggled. "Oh, Mr. Mitsuru. It's all up to the students if my hair is distracting. It's their problem if they can't stop admiring it."

"Well spoken, my dear, Hitomi." Ayame retorted with charm.

Hitomi smiled at Ayame in response. She loved when he agreed with her because she knew they were on the same page.

"Stay out of this, Mr. Sohma. This situation is between me and Ms. Soto."

"But sir," Ayame stepped in front of Hitomi as if trying to protect her from the wrath of Mr. Mitsuru. "I am the student council president. Shouldn't I be the one to address these issues?"

"Well, I ----"

"And I feel that Ms. Soto's hair color is absolutely gorgeous. It should NOT be touched. It expresses her individuality, not to mention conveys her extraordinary beauty."

Hitomi blushed at the many compliments Ayame was throwing at her. What she wanted to know was if he genuinely felt that way or if he was just trying to get Mr. Mitsuru out of their faces.

"Mr. Sohma…"

"And remember what you said to me about my wonderful, exquisite silver hair? Remember, don't you remember?"

Sweat began to form on Mr. Mitsuru's brow. "I'd like to forget about the entire episode." Mr. Mitsuru shook his head trying to avoid even thinking about that long time ago. He sighed in defeat. "Fine. Ms. Soto. But make this the last strange color that you dye your hair."

Hitomi grinned at Mr. Mitsuru in triumph. "Sure, Mr. Mitsuru." Hitomi grabbed onto Ayame's arm as they began to walk down the hallway. She playfully turned back around and gave her vice principal a teasing wave. "Bye, Mr. Mitsuru, see you around!"

Mr. Mitsuru shook his head as he watched the student council president walk away with his pink haired companion. "Boy, I need to get a new job."


	3. Teachers

"Is this one it?" Shina and Hatori peered into classroom 4C in pure amusement. Students were sitting on desks and chatting like class was never to start. No teacher in sight.

"This IS room 4C." Hatori responded staring at the sign above that clearly read '4C'.

"But…there's no teacher in there."Shina shrugged, glancing, again, into the teacher-less room. "This can't be it."

Hatori sighed and looked back at Shina, who was feeling quite questionable at this point. "Let's just go in and see what happens. This has to be our classroom. I doubt that the school made a mistake."

Shina looked at her friend, hoping he was right. He was always so confident when he found an answer to something. Never at all nervous about anything. The total opposite of Shina, who'd been shy all her life. She'd get nervous if too many people were staring at her or if they asked her multiple questions. She'd even get nervous when her parents arrived home. "Alright, Hatori." She sighed, following him as he confidently entered the room.

"Hey, it's vice president Hatori!" yelled a male student from the back as Hatori and Shina walked into the noisy classroom. Immediately, as if it were a cue, almost every student in the class surrounded Hatori, speaking of ideas for the new school year and what they did for their summer vacations.

Shina watched Hatori get overwhelmed by students while she sat into a seat close to the window. Though she had very popular friends, she'd never been very popular herself. She'd always had a few friends outside of her normal 'circle' but everywhere she went, it seemed, that she was unable to accumulate many friends, though she desperately wanted more than she'd already had.

"Shina?"

Shina was broken from her thoughts by a warm hand on her shoulder accompanied by a female voice. She quickly turned to see who it was.

It was her lab partner, Yumiko Shimizu, who'd been her science partner for the past two years. Yumiko was a short girl, about Leiko's height, who had short black hair and large brown eyes. She'd been known around Kaiwaia High as being easy since her first year but who was Shina to judge? "Hey, Miko. How was your summer?"

"Oh, Shina! It was incredible! Absolutely incredible! I went to America to visit my cousin, you know he plays baseball there, and we went to all these different states, it was great!" Yumiko was very enthusiastic and very vocal. She never lacked in the talking department. "How about you? You seemed as if you were in deep thought a few moments ago."

"Well, as for my summer, it was okay. I did a few things here and there but I mostly worked the entire time."

"Wow. That's quite a bummer." Yumiko slid into the seat next to Shina. "At least you've got some money to spend."

"Yeah, that's a plus, right?" Shina and Yumiko began to giggle.

"So, what were you thinking about a few minutes ago?"

"Oh, nothing. Just…." Shina glanced over to see how Hatori was doing. He looked completely worn out already. He was still surrounded by, what looked like, every student in the classroom. All of them asking him nonsense questions and telling him useless things.

"What are you…? Oh, I get it." Yumiko slowly smiled as she realized what Shina had began to stare at.

Shina looked at Yumiko, shaking her head to rid the thought of thinking about Hatori. "What? What are you talking about?" She nervously began to scratch the back of her neck.

"You wanna ask Hatori a question, don't you? I mean, you and him are gonna have a lot of time with each other anyways. You're on the student council board together. Plus, you're in the same class together this year so you'll have an ENORMOUS amount of time together. You're so lucky, I'd date Hatori Sohma in a minute! I mean, just look at him! He's gorgeous! Just like President Ayame and Shigure! Beautiful! Just flawless –"

"OKAY!" Shina's head was practically spinning from the fast talking Yumiko was doing. She smiled at Yumiko weakly as she raised her hand in a gesture to attempt to make Yumiko changed the subject.

"So, where's Hitomi and Leiko? I thought you guys would all be in the same class?"

"Yeah, I did as well. Unfortunately, they're ---"

"GOOD MORNING, CLASS!" A very young looking man in a dark blue suit and plaid tie walked into the classroom, raising both of his hands in the air with a wide smile across his face. He was nothing short of handsome. About 6'2, neatly groomed brown hair and perfect white teeth, he couldn't be a day older than 25. Immediately, he caught Shina's eye. "Allow me to introduce myself. But before I do so, why don't we have all of you sit down, shall we?"

Addressing the crowd that had formed before his desk a long time before he had gotten there, the crowd of students, including Hatori, sluggishly took their seats, Hatori taking the one behind Shina.

Shina leaned back as Hatori sat down. "I'm sorry about that." She whispered to him.

"Don't worry about it, Shina." Hatori mumbled back, obviously a bit shaken with what had happened.

The young man sat on the front of his desk comfortably. "My name is Ritsu Hayashi and I will be your teacher for this entire school year. I actually went to school here when I was your age. I just graduated from college so this is my first real job and I'm very excited to get started this year. I know that you're elated now that this is your last high school year so I'll try my hardest to be your coolest teacher yet. But first, I want to go around the room and just get to know each and every one of you. Let's start with --- "

Mr. Hayashi fell silent as soon as he looked to the far right of the room and locked eyes with Shina. His entire face fell from exuberant to blank.

"Start w-with me?" Shina asked, pointing to herself and feeling heat start to rush to her cheeks again.

Mr. Hayashi slowly nodded. "Umm…yes, please. Let's – let's begin with you, miss."

Shina nervously stood from her desk and began to talk before she was interrupted by Mr. Hayashi.

"State your name, your age and something special that I, err, the class would be interested to know about you."

Shina sighed and laced her fingers together. "Well, my name is Shina Ito. I'm 17. And….I'm the first female student council treasurer at Kaiwaia High since 1988." Shina quickly sat back down, a little embarrassed.

"Woooow…." Mr. Hayashi mumbled, keeping his eyes on Shina as she sat down. "That's….amazing."

Shina smiled nervously at the young teacher. "Th-thank you, Mr. Hayashi."

Hatori kept his eye on the teacher, a little suspicious by the way he was acting towards his friend.

"Well, who's next?"

---

"GREETINGS, EVERYONE! YOUR PRESIDENT HAS ARRIVED!" Ayame shouted as he entered class 4D with Hitomi on his arm, followed by Leiko and Shigure.

The class remained silent, staring at the foursome in anticipation. Ayame burst with laughter as he watched the class stare at him in fear.

"What's wrong with you all? You all look like I'm going to kill all of you!"

"No. I'LL be the one to do the killing in this room if you four don't plug your bottoms into a seat."

A short and stout man with a large belly, a full beard, small, thin rimmed glasses and a balding, shiny head stood at the chalk board of the classroom, holding a sheet of paper in one hand and a long piece of chalk in the other.

Ayame looked around to see that he was standing in the middle of the room alone; Hitomi, Shigure and Leiko had taken the desks in front of the classroom quickly. Hitomi silently pointed to the desk next to her, frantically, as Ayame glanced at her.

"Hm. So it's come to this." He said to his friends before turning his full attention to the man at the chalk board. "And who might YOU be, sir?"

The man turned around again to face Ayame, frustration written all over his wrinkled face. "My name is Mr. Kin. I'll, unfortunately, be your teacher for the rest of the year, Mr. Sohma."

"Oh, wow! You know my name!" Ayame placed his fists on his narrow hips in triumph. "Well, of course, you know my name! I'm the most talked about boy, no, PERSON at Kaiwaia High, for the obvious reasons."

"Yes, Mr. Sohma. I've been watching you throughout the years and I know more than you think I know about you. TAKE A SEAT! NOW!"

Ayame was taken aback by the way this man was talking to him. Hitomi was now tapping on the desk next to her loudly to try to get Ayame's attention. Ayame reluctantly took the seat Hitomi was tapping on, peeved that this man had the gall to talk to him the way he was.

"Can you believe him? I certainly can't." Ayame whispered to Hitomi, fuming mad.

"I hate to break it to you, Ayame, but not everybody loves you."

"YOU! THERE!" Mr. Kin pointed his long piece of chalk in Hitomi's direction. Hitomi looked around, hoping that he wasn't pointing at her.

"Me, sir?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, you! Who else would I be pointing at?"

Hitomi sarcastically shrugged. "As if there aren't twenty other kids in here."

"DETENTION. AFTER SCHOOL."

"WHAT?!" Hitomi loudly retorted, standing up from her desk.

"You heard me, young lady. Detention, today."

"FOR WHAT?! WHAT DID I DO??"

"First of all, that bizarre, dreadful hair color is distracting to my class. Second, I can hear you chatting with Mr. Sohma. Nobody chats in my class unless I instruct them to."

Hitomi was appalled. She couldn't believe she had managed to get detention within a few minutes of her stepping into her new classroom.

"Excuse me, but ---" Ayame stood up, his finger pointing in the air.

"You, too."

"WHAT?!?!?! BUT I AM THE STU---"

"Yes, and the student council President has got detention --- with me."

Ayame's jaw nearly hit the floor. He was completely flabbergasted. The nerve of this man. "Sir! I was okay with you giving her detention, but me?! How in the world did I manage to get detention?"

"Hey! It was YOUR FAULT that he gave me detention in the first place!" Hitomi yelled in response.

"Oh, hush, you pink headed clown! Your carelessness has gotten me in trouble!" Ayame retorted, slamming his fists onto his desk.

"CLOWN?! HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A CLOWN, YOU SILVER HEADED DWEEB!"

"ENOUGH!!!!" Mr. Kin screamed, his face, now, resembling a tomato. "YOU BOTH SIT DOWN AND I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD FROM EITHER OF YOU!! GOT IT?"

Both Hitomi and Ayame nodded, before exchanging hateful looks with one another.

Shigure scribbled something on a tiny sheet of ripped paper and nonchalantly tossed it onto Leiko's desk when Mr. Kin was facing the board.

Leiko happily looked at Shigure and mouthed, 'for me?'

Shigure smiled back at his beautiful neighbor and nodded.

Leiko sloppily opened the crumbled piece of paper.

"I think this day is exceptional  
To reminisce your life in array  
To commemorate, when the sun stretches his ray  
Seeing your euphoric face is like flowers in may  
So I am here with you willing to stay  
Simply smiling and nothing to say  
Hoping will be together since that day."

Leiko looked at Shigure, who hadn't taken his eyes off of her and mouthed, 'Awwww!' Shigure blew her a kiss in response. He, then, ripped another piece of paper from his notebook and began to quickly scribble something onto it. Again, when Mr. Kin wasn't looking, he tossed it to Leiko's desk. She opened it, excited to see what the new one said:

"There once was a girl from Whick  
Who said to her Mum "What's a dick?"  
She said "My dear Annie,  
It goes up your fanny  
And jumps up and down till it's sick"."

Leiko immediately clapped her hand upon her mouth to prevent herself from laughing hysterically. Instead, she gave Shigure a shocked look and let a few giggles out, hoping Mr. Kin wouldn't notice.

"You, with the blonde hair. What's your name?" Mr. Kin's back stayed towards the class, his face still towards the chalk board.

Leiko frantically looked around, noticing she was the only blonde sitting in the classroom. "M-m-m-me?"

"Aren't you the only blonde in this entire room?"

"Yes, si-"

"Then, why would you ask a crazy question like that?"

"Th-that's a question?" She looked at Hitomi, confused already. Hitomi shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Stand up in front of the class and read those notes that you received from Mr. Sohma, there."

Leiko stood up from her desk with her hands upon her hips. "Hey, how do you know Shigure?"

"READ THE NOTES!"

Lieko jumped at the sound of his booming voice and shuffled with the little notes Shigure had written her. "Umm…sir? I-I can't read these."

"AND WHY NOT?!" Mr. Kin had turned his entire body towards Leiko, spit flying out of his mouth as he yelled.

Leiko looked around the room, nervously, before approaching Mr. Kin and showing him the notes to his face.

As he read, the notes his eyes squinted, then all of a sudden, his jaw dropped and his eyes shot out of his head. "MR. SOHMA! DETENTION!"

Shigure gasped in shock.

"Oh, please, sir! It's not --"

"Don't think that you're off the hook either! You've got detention as well, missy!"

"Wha-?!"

"Now, SIT!"

Leiko silently took her seat, on the verge of tears. She peered over at Hitomi and Ayame, who were shaking their heads at her in disbelief.

---

_DING DING DING DING….DING DING DING DING_

Shina and Hatori gathered their things as they got ready to leave their class and join the others for lunch.

"I'm still really sorry for what happened when we first got in here." Shina couldn't help but feel guilty, for she somehow felt that she could've stopped all those kids from bombarding Hatori when he'd arrived in the class room.

"Please, Shina, it's okay. I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"Miss Ito?"

Shina looked up from her bag to see her teacher, Mr. Hayashi, peering at her.

"Yes, Mr. Hayashi?" She asked, taking her attention from Hatori, and her bag, to him.

"May I speak with you?"

"Sure, yeah." She smiled, crossing her arms across her chest.

Mr. Hayashi glanced at Hatori. "Privately?"

Shina looked behind her shoulder at Hatori, who'd looked more than peeved. "I'll catch up with you later, Ha'ri."

Hatori sighed as he walked out of the room without another word.

"What's wrong, Mr. Hayashi?"

"Nothing, Ms. Ito. Nothing at all. I wanted to tell you….that you look very nice today."

Shina smiled and shrugged. "Thanks…but that's all you wanted to tell me?"

Mr. Hayashi sighed as if he wanted to get something off of his chest. Something that was tough to say. He stared at the shiny tile floor beneath them and began to kick at the dark scuffs the students had made with their shoes.

"Mr. Hayashi?" Shina peered over at the young teacher who'd seemed to be in his own world.

He shook his head quickly and turned his attention back to her. "Um. Yes. Do you – uh – have a….boyfriend?"

Shina felt herself blush but calmly played it off. "Um…no. Not at the moment, no."

Mr. Hayashi shook his head and gave her a nice glimpse of his pearly whites. "Good."

Shina, starting to feel more uncomfortable than ever, looked down at her little black wristwatch. "I've gotta go, Mr. Hayashi. I've got friends waiting on me." She laughed, trying to make him think that she didn't feel as uncomfortable as she did.

"Yes, I understand. Goodbye, Ms. Ito."

Shina hoisted her backpack onto her back and exited the room.

"What was that all about?"

Hatori had been standing next to the door, waiting for her to come out. Immediately, Shina jumped at the sound of his deep, yet soothing, voice.

"Ha'ri! How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to hear what was going on."

Shina placed her hand on her hips. How dare he listen in to a private conversation. "Hatori, that was supposed to be a PRIVATE conversation."

"Well, who'd have a private conversation with the door wide open?"

Hatori had a point. Sheesh, she hated when he did that. "Whatever." Shina quickly changed the subject. "I wonder how Ayame, Hitomi, Leiko and Shigure's teacher was."

"Hm." Hatori grunted back in response, still trying to make sense of Shina and Mr. Hayashi's strange conversation. Who was he to make judgment ALREADY about the man who was going to teach him for the next eight months. But that was sort of odd, him asking if Shina had a boyfriend. And he couldn't help but feel offended with Shina said that she was single. But why was he making such a big deal about it. It wasn't like they were going to start dating.


End file.
